Carburetor



C. P. BROCKWAY May 22, T923.

CARBURETOR Filed Feb. -1o 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet l Patented May ZZ, 1923.

n ira CARL P. BROCKWAY, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO lIl\TlDU'S'lRIAL RESEARCH CORPORATION, OF TOLEDO, OI-IIO` A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

CARBURETOR.

Application filed February 10, 1919.l Serial No. 276,169.

To all Lo/1.0m t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CARL P. BnocnwAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Toledo, in the county of Lucas and d-tate of Ohio` have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Carburetors, of which I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a process and apparatus for carbureting liquid fuels, which has particular utility for the heavier oils, although it has advantages for the lighter fuels, such as gasoline, because of the completeness with which it accomplishes the operation of carburetion.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of means for breaking up the fuel into very fine particles and thoroughly mixing it with the air employed for carburetion.

A feature of the invention is the provision of a. rotating element, preferably a bowl,

upon which may be formed a very thin filml of oil. and over the upper edge of which the oil may be thrown centrifugally to form a vapor and which bowl may be so designed, as to the curvature of its inner .surface as to bring about a maximum efficiency for a fuel of any given viscosity.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of an annular, tubular passage into which the centrifugally thrown oil is discharged, which passage is of a width sufcient to enable the air moving along said passage to deflect the oil and form a good mixture therewith, but which is limited in height in order that the suction of the engine intake which is connected to said passage may produce a sufficient velocity of the gases therein.

A further feature is the provision of means for connecting the interior of the bowl with the engine intake whereby oil is drawn into the bowl through the passage at the bottom thereof in quantities depending upon the suction in the intake, which in turn depends upon the speed of the engine. By this means, proper proportions of oil and air are obtained automatically for all engine speeds. l

Still other objects, and objects relating to' details of construction and economies of manufacture, Will appear as I proceed with the description of that embodiment of the Figure I is a top plan view of a carburetor embodyingthe invention, the driving motor being omitted.

Fig. II is a view principally in vertical section on the line II-II, Fig. I. Y

Fig. III is a vertical sectional view substantially on the line III-III, Fig. II.

Fig. IV is a vertical'section on the line IV-IV, Fig. II.

Fig. V is a plan view of the device with the cover plate or upper part of the closure removed.

Fig. VI is a fragmental cross section on a small scale, the section being taken substantially on the line VI-VI, Fig. I.

Fig. VII is a fragmental View on a small scale partly in section on line V IIVII.y Fig. I.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the views.

In the drawing, the float chamber of the carburetor is indicated at 10. A removable vcover 1l enables the user to obtain access readily to the interior of the float chamber. where is found the usual iioat 12, which is secured to one end of a lever 13 pivotally supported at 14, the opposite end of the lever carrying the stem of the valve 15 controlling the admission of fuel into the float chamber. The lower element 9 of the casing of the carburetor proper is bowl shaped, in general contour, and has an extension 16 on one side to which the float chamber is attached or with which it may be made integral. Through the extension 16 a passage 17 is drilled to connect the bottom of the float chamber with a vertical passage 18 through a tube 19, the upper end of the tube having a constricted opening to constitute a seat for the needle valve stem 20. The lower end of the latter is threaded at 21 for adjustment, a handle 22 being provided for the purpose.

The top of the lower part 9 of the casing is extended to form the lower half 23 of an annular casing, the upper half 24 of which is made integral with a coverplate or upper part 25 of the casing. Bosses 26 and 27 upon the lower` and upper halves respectively of the annular casing are drilled and threaded to receive bolts 28, 29, 30 and 31,

by means of which the two parts of the casing or closure are secured tightly together. Along the outer periphery of the tubular, annular casing I provide air inlet openings. Preferably these openings are in the form of slots 32, 33 and 34 located at the inter-section of the halves of the annular casing, the slot 32 between bolts 28 and 29 being wider than the slot 33 between bolts 29 and 30, and the slot 33 being wider than the slot 34 between bolts 30 and 31. Under some conditions it may be found desirable to employ an additional air inlet 35, the size of which may be regulated within certain limits by means of a plate 36 pivoted at 37 and arranged to be secured in adjusted position by a set screw 38 positioned in a slot 39 in the plate.

Vertical registering walls 40 and 41 upon the upper and lower halves respectively of the annular casing form a partition across said casing. The air inlet 35 is located close to said partition on one side, while on the other side is the. engine intake 42, which may be cast integral with the upper part or co-ver plate 25 of the casing. The intake may be provided with a throttle valve 43 of any suitable character, and with an auxiliary'air inlet valve 44 which, in the illustration, is located to one side of the intake, and is normally held closed by a spring 45, the tension of which may be adjusted by means of a tubular threaded element 46, the upper end of which constitutes a shoulder against which the spring bears, the valve stem 47 sliding within said element 4G.

Centrally in the upper part 25 of the closure or casing I mount rotatably a shaft 48, preferably by means of a roller bearing 49 held in yposition by a screw threaded collar 50. The lower end of the shaft is bored out to receive rotatably the tube 19, through which fuel passes to the upper end of the bored out portion and thence through small openings 51 into a bowl 52, which is secured centrally by means of a fluid tight joint to the base of the shaft 48. A bearing,-preferably a roller bearing 53, rotatably supports the lower extremity of the bowl 52. Alust sufficient clearance is provided at the upper edge of the bowl between it and the casing, both. on the interior and exterior, to remove all danger of contact while the bowl is in rotation, except at a point in front of the partition formed by the walls 40 and 41. At this point there is a passage 8 of considerable size between the bowl and cover plate and leading to the engine intake, the purpose being to create by means of suction from the engine a partial vacuum within the bowl, by means of which fuel is drawn into the bowl from the passages 17,118 and 51, 'in amounts proportionate tothe engine speed. Hence the amount of fuel fed to the speed of rotation of the bowl, provided the latter be above a certain minimum sutlicient to raise the fuel and throw it off into the annular passage.

The inclination of the surface of the bowl grows constantly steeper as the distance from the center increases, until at the top the surface may be almost vertical. It will be noticed that the curvature of the bowl as illustrated in the drawing is substantially ovoidal, and this is the shape which at the present time I consider best suited to the purpose. The curvature must be varied, however, to suit fuels of different viscosities, that is, the lower the viscosity the steeper the curve should be. In designing the bowl, the ideal condition to be approached is that where the inclination of its interior surface is just steep enough to enable tlie bowl to impart to the oil being used practically its own speed of rotation. If the inclination is less than this, the oil will never attain the desired speed, and consequently when itpleaves the edge ofthe bowl it will not have as much centrifugal force as it should have in order to obtain the best results. On the other hand, if the surface of the bowl is too steep the oil will pile up somewhat, instead of forming itself into the extremely thin film which is desirable in order to approach closely the very fine division of particles which results in perfect carburetion.

Any suitable means may be employed for producing rapid rotation of the shaft 48. In this case I have shown for the purpose a small electric motor 54.

In the .operation of my carburetor, the motor 54 is first started, in order that the bowl 52 may be rotating at full speed before any fuel is drawn into it. The flywheel of the engine to which the invention is applied is then revolved by any suitable means and its ignition cut in. As soon as the operation of the engine creates sufficient suction in the intalre 42 and thereby in the bowl' 52', fuel is drawn into the latter through the passages 51, 18 and 17 from the float chamber 10. The oil emerging from the openings 51 onto the bottom of the rapidly rotating bowl, receives a whirling Vmotion therefrom, and 'as it acquires speed,

moves outwardly by centrifugal force further and further away from the bottom of the bowl to positions along the wall of the latter where the speed of rotation is incre'asingly greater and the centrifugal force thereby imparted correspondingly more.v

rhe oil is thrown off the upper edge of the rotating bowlV in a thin lm and moves rapidly out-ward due to centrifugal force,

the separation of the particlesv becoming greater as the distance from the bowl increases. 'Ihe outward motion ofthe oil engine is not dependent in any way upon the particles is opposed by air entering tliean! nular passage through the slots 32, 33 and 34, which preferably are located in a line directly opposite the upper edge of the bowl. This air is moving with considerable velocity, owing to the suction from the engine intake, and being directly opposed to the motion of the oil particles, it assists greatly in interrupting that motion while at the same time mixing with the oil. The oil particles are further interrupted and deflected from their course by the air which has previously entered thecasing through the slots further away from the engine intake and through the inlet 35, if the latter be used, so that practically no oil is permitted to reach the outer walls of the casing. As will be readily appreciated, the mixing of the air with the oil by this means is very complete, the oil having` been first broken up into extremely minute particles by the centrifugal movement through the annular casing of the thin film formed on the bowl. I prefer to make the slots 32, 83 and 34 gradually wider as the distance from the engine intake increases, in order to compensate for the decreased strength of the suction as that distance increases. The annular passage vis of considerable width but of comparatively little height. This is for the purpose of keeping the cross sectional area down to a size which shall be small enough to enable the engine suction to produce a satisfactory velocity in the gases flowing through the passage, while at the same time providing considerable horizontal space for the outward movement of the oil particles, whereby they may become separated from each other and whereby the deflecting current of air may have plenty of opportunity to act. The movements of the oil particles and currents of air are diagrammatically indicated by arrows in Fig. V. As shown in this figure the direction of rotation of the bowl is the same as the direction of movement of the air and gas towards the engine intake. However,v I do not wish to be understood as limiting the invention in this respect, because it may be found that under certain conditions a motion of the bowl opposite to that of the air currents is desirable.

The oil and gas mixture on passing to the engine is exploded in the usual way, and as the engine gets up speed the suction in the intake and carburetor bowl increases so that more oil is drawn into the bowl and a proper mixture thus obtained. This is a highly important feature for engines with large speed variations, such for instance, as automobile engines.

I am aware that the particular embodiment of my invention above described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, is susceptible of considerable variations without departing from the spirit thereof, and

therefore I desire to claim my invention broadly as well as specifically as indicated by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a carburetor, a rapidly rotating element, means for producing a thin film of oil upon said rotating element, an annular hollow casing surrounding said rotating element and open towards the latter, the rapid movement of the rotating element throwing oil in the form of spray into said annular casing, a partition across said casing at one point, said casing having an air inlet on one side of said partition and an engine intake on the other side thereof.

2. In a carburetor7 a rapidly rotating element, means for producing a, thin film of oil upon said rotating element, an annular hollow casing surrounding said rotating element and open towards the latter, the rapid movement of the rotating element throwing oil in the form of spray into said annular casing, said casing being provided with openings in its outer periphery in a line opposite the opening towards the rotating element, and an engine intake connected with said casing.

3. In a carburetor, a rapidly rotating element, means for producing a thin film of oil upon said rotating element, an annular hollow casing surrounding said rotating element and open towards the latter, the rapid movement of the rotating element throwing oil in the form of spray into said annular casing, said casing being provided with openings in its outer periphery in a line opposite the opening towards the rotating element, an engine intake connected with said casing, said outer openings decreasing in extent as they approach the engine intake.

4. In a carburetor, a rapidly rotating element, means for producing a thin film of oil upon said rotating element, an annular hollow casing surrounding said rotating element, and open towards the latter, the rapid movement of the rotating element throwing oil in the form of spray into said annular casing, a partition across said casing at one point, said casing having an air inlet on one side of said partition and an engine intake on the other side thereof, and having openings in its outer periphery in a line opposite the opening towards the rotating element.

5. In a carburetor, a rapidly rotating element, means for producing a thin lilm of oil upon said rotating element, an annular hollow casing surrounding said rotating element and open towards the latter, the rapid movement of the rotating element throwing oil in the form of spray into said annular casing, a partition across said casing at one point, said casing having an engine intake on one side of said partition and on the other side thereof, having a slot in its outer periphery, said slot decreasing.,r in width as it approaches said engine intake.

6. In a carburetor, a bowl mounted for rotation upon a vertical axis, means for feeding oil into said bowl'at the bottom thereof1 and an annular hollow casing surrounding the upper edge ot' said bowl and open towards the latter through a narrow slot, said casing having an air inlet and an engine intake widely separated with respect to the path of the mixture through said annular casing".

7. In a carburetor, a bowl mounted for rotation upon a vertical aXis, an oil chamber. a connection between said chamber and the bottom of said bowl, an annular hollow casing forming a separate chamber surrounding the upper edge of said bowl and open towards the latter, said casing having an'air inlet'at its periphery and an engine intake, land a connection between the interior of said bowl and said engine intake, whereby oil is drawn into said bowl through suction.

8. In a carburetor, a horizontally rotating element, means for producing a thin film of oil upon said rotating element, a horizontal annular hollow casing surrounding said rotating element and open towards the latter, the cross sectional width of the casing being greater than its height in order to limit the sectional area of the passage while providing considerable radial distance for the centrifugal travel of spray thrown from said rotating element,v said annular casing having an air inlet and an engine intake.

9. In a carburetor, a horizontally rotating element, means for producing a thin film of oil upon said rotating element, a horizontal annular hollow casing surrounding said rotating element, and open towards the latter, the walls" of said casing being arranged to provide a passage constructed towards the center in order to limit the sectional larea of the passage while providing considerable radial distance for the centrifugal travel of spray thrown from saidV rotating element, said annular casing having air inlet openings along its outer periphery opposite said constricted passage and an engine intake.

In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signay ture.

CARL P. BnooKwAY. 

